Not sure where you're staying, which will probably affect recommendations. Also, a lot of upscale restaurants in Boston have great bar seating, I urge you to search through the Boston threads, you'll find a lot of good recommendations there.

Couple places that are great for apps and drinks - including wine:

1. Eastern Standard Kitchen, right at 528 Commonwealth Ave. Just follow the crowd out of Fenway and onto the street and they will lead you there. Note that this place will be quite crowded after a game.

2. Central Kitchen in Central Square. This will require a trip into Cambridge - but if you map it it's actually a rather nice walk from the Fenway/Kenmore area. 567 Massachusetts Ave - also very close to the Central Square T Stop. They have a stellar, affordable wine list and a very nice selection of appetizers - small plates really.

3. For game watching - there are tons of excellent sports bars in Boston. My favorite place for beer/upscale pub food/television is Deep Ellum in Allston: 477 Cambridge Street. But again, this may or may not be easily accessible to you, it depends where you're staying.

I'll leave North Shore recommendations to the folks who know - again a search of the board might be fruitful. Good luck.

Central Kitchen in Central Square has a nice deep list which contains great value. You can get a good deal on twenty year old second growth Bordeaux (still expensive, but a great deal for that bottle) or a great deal on a small production wine out of Cali. I'd also recommend Prezza in the North End. Their reserve list is huge, and also contains great value, but Prezza tends to be much more expensive.

I work in downtown Boston, every couple weeks I treat myself to an espresso drink at Peet’s. On this particular occasion (during rush hour) I had a bad experience, related to the relative inexperience of the barista. The drink I ordered was badly made. I suspected this while in the shop and confirmed it once I reached work and tried the coffee. After I reached work, tried the coffee, and did some actual work, I decided to write to Peet’s about what had transpired. I gave an account of what I thought had gone wrong with the making of the drink and the reasons why I was upset about it, chief among them that a $4 coffee from Peet’s is something I can only treat myself to on occasion. Within two hours I had a response from the web customer-service manager for Peet’s, followed by a response from Peet’s district manager who let me know he had passed my criticism along to the store manager. Peet’s sent me cards for two free coffee drinks, one of which I used a week later. I had the same barista as on the previous occasion, but this time the espresso drink was well made and tasty. A good experience, in the end.

There are a number of factors contributing to shortages and higher prices - argo businesses growing corn instead of wheat, corn being allocated to ethanol fuel instead of food, flooding in places like Bangladesh that wiped out an entire rice crop. Add that to supply-stores that suddenly hit a low level and the prospect of future supply shortages and I imagine that suppliers of grains and other foodstuffs might suddenly raise their prices, hedging against even worse news to come.

I grew up in a burb west of Boston, and I remember the buzz among food-aware adults when the Tuscan Grill opened in Waltham during my teen years. "There's a new place that's good, and it's in Waltham!?!" A lot has changed since then, in Waltham and all around the metro area.

I had an opportunity to have dinner at the Tuscan Grill recently with some family members. I hadn't been there in... more years than i care to admit. In short, it was tremendously disappointing. Whether the restaurant has truly fallen from great heights or my bar has just risen to a proper chowhound level really doesn't matter at this point.

So, now to the dirty details. A "tempura" softshell crab app was battered as thick as a pancake and not cooked through. Salmon was okay but the risotto it was served with was impossibly bad. Terrifically salty with a powerful taste of canned chicken soup. I don't think they're making their own stock. Monkfish was tough and dry, and the rather flavorful ratatouille it was served with was far too oily.

1. Duck confit at Hamersley's Bistro. I know that's a basic bistro dish, but I had avoided it for years after several experience with duck in Boston where the bird was tough and chewy. This one was a revelation that completely turned me around on the bird. Also had it with my first Cote Rotie, it was a rather lucky pairing, perfect.

2. Homemade papperdell pasta topped with a heap, a real heap of just-shaved white truffle. This was at No. 9, it still rings.

A co-worked just brought me a Clover brewed cup of Starbucks' new "not burnt" Pike's Place Blend. I've generally stayed far away from Starbucks - I hadn't had Starbucks' coffee for years, but have tried their Clover coffee three times lately. The Pike's Place is not the best of the Clover brews I've had, but it's not bad, and I'm finding it a little reminiscent of Peet's coffee. Anyone else tried it yet?

I also have a hard time believing that the implementation will work smoothly for Starbucks - making a clover drink does seem to take at least three minutes, and unless Starbucks generates some real demand and then staffs to meet that demand making a few clover coffees will really slow up their morning rush.

I hope this isn't veering too off-topic, but Simon's on Mass Ave between Porter and Harvard also has excellent coffee. Like True Grounds they use Howell's beans for coffee and espresso, and they occasionally bring out some roasts from Atomic Cafe as well. The coffee is excellent, the espresso is sublime.

I've been going to No. 9 for years, so the folks there seem to know us and we always get excellent service. I still think that No 9 has the best mixology (hail John Gertsen) in Boston and a really kick-ass young-Burgundy list.

That said, I've been a tad disappointed in the food of late. It's still quite good, but I found certain textures and tastes a little off, or a little dull. I can give a couple specific examples if there is interest, but really I just wanted to put in my two cents - No. 9 is still excellent, but the food experience isn't quite where I remember it being a couple years ago.

Thank you MC Slim. This thread has been very interesting for me. I personally have reservations about RW but have not seen the topic discussed on CH before. It's nice to be able to read all these perspectives.

I really don't have a problem with beer prices and portions at Deep Ellum given that it's often stuff that I never see anywhere else and the tap lines are impeccably maintained . For anyone who is interested, they're also building an amazing whiskey collection - I believe they currently have all ages of Black Maple Hill bourbon and rye. Those booze are pricey, but well worth it if that's what you love.